Restaurant-of-the-week program features in-lobby food pickup

Residents of 600 N. Lake Shore Drive picked up their dinners in the lobby of their building on April 24, where a number of dishes from Indian Garden were waiting for them.

The tasty convenience was the latest edition of a new service featuring meals that are cooked, prepared and delivered to the location every Tuesday and Friday night by neighborhood restaurants like Carson’s, Volare and Sayat Nova. Created by resident Deborah Halpern, who has lived in Streeterville for a decade, the arrangement offers a delicious way to support local businesses.

“We have all these different ethnic and independently-owned small restaurants,” she explained. “They need us right now.”

The idea came about when Halpern and the building’s social committee worked to increase the sense of community among residents. Besides bringing new tastes into the property twice a week, it also helps reduce the feeling of detachment that comes along with the stay-at-home order.

“We have tables set up in the lobby so restaurants can deliver without touching anything,” she continued. “The residents stand in a line six feet apart wearing masks.”

Picking up the food, according to resident Sharyl Albright, serves a pleasant reminder that the current crisis is “not the apocalypse.”

“It’s so hard because we don’t ride elevators together, but seeing that there are people still living here in the building makes me feel good,” she continued. “We’re all in this together.”

Residents place their orders ahead of time by visiting the websites of the featured restaurants that are listed in a newsletter created by Halpern. On any given night, anywhere from ten to 29 people join the feast.

“There are so many people who walk by these restaurants and not even see them,” she remarked. “But now they’ll maybe give them a try.”

Indian Garden co-owner Arun Sharma agreed.

“It definitely gave us a boost, and hopefully everybody is safe and enjoying meals at home,” he said. “It is a tougher time than I’ve never seen before, but we’re all in this together.”

Besides delivering to 600 N Lake Shore Dr., Sharma and Indian Garden also treated the staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to a hundred free meals twice a week throughout April.

Halpern, a retired marketing professional and business owner, includes very specific instructions about what residents should do to place and receive their orders. She also contacts the restaurants directly “to guarantee that they will receive and package the orders and drive them over here on Tuesday and Friday nights.”

Introduced about a month ago, the program has not only thrilled residents as well as restaurants, but also sparked interest in nearby buildings.

“Some of the residents are forwarding our Saturday morning letters to friends in other buildings saying, ‘look what we’re doing,’” she said. “The restaurants also want to know, ‘how can we do this in other buildings?’”

For neighbors seeking advice about the program, Halpern can be contacted via email here.

Top photo: menu selections from Carson’s, Sayat Nova, Indian Garden, and Volare.